RADIO
Week 4 of the NFL season is underway and the Thursday Night Football showdown slate features an interesting matchup as the Denver Broncos take on the New York Jets! This game currently has a 39.5 over/under with the Broncos being favored by 1 point.
In this article, I will be providing you with daily fantasy football picks on FanDuel and DraftKings for Thursday Night Football on October 1st, 2020 (Week 4). These lineups can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel. Lineup construction can differ greatly from FanDuel to DraftKings with the biggest difference being the Captain and MVP slots. On DK, you'll pay 1.5x the salary of a player in order to roster them as your captain while the price doesn't change on FanDuel.
If you have any questions you can follow me on Twitter @jorgepucks and fire away, or sign up for a premium RotoBaller NFL package and chat with myself and other NFL DFS analysts any time you'd like! Now let's break this slate down and make some cash as we get ready for the full Sunday slate of games!
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DFS Quarterbacks
The quarterback options are not quite what we saw on Monday night but could both be viable with how the opposing defenses they are facing have been struggling as of late. The Broncos are still without Drew Lock and with a rough outing from Jeff Driskel against the Bucs, Vic Fangio turned the keys over to the offense to Brett Rypien. The former Boise State product completed eight of nine passes for 53 yards while tossing an interception in his lone drive with the first-team offense against Tampa Bay. The Jets are allowing 239 passing yards per game which is 15th in the league but when analyzing their previous games, opposing teams are getting up on New York early which is limiting the passing upside due to the game script.
Sam Darnold is clearly the best quarterback on this slate and gets a favorable matchup against the 29th passing defense of Denver. Darnold has gotten a bit of a short stick this year with poor coaching and the lack of true offensive weapons which hinders his actual upside. On the season, Darnold has completed 61.4% of his passes while only throwing for 187 passing yards and a touchdown per game. Denver's defense has not been good and it all started with the loss of Von Miller for the entire season. With the matchup being favorable, Darnold is certainly viable regardless of how poor his first couple of games have been.
Summary: Darnold is the safer option for cash games while Rypien could be added to your player pool for tournament builds.
DFS Running Backs
Both teams have struggled running the football in the first three weeks so it makes it tough to truly rely on any of the running backs. The best back in this showdown slate is Melvin Gordon III. He is averaging 13.6 DK points per game but as we saw in their last game against Tampa if Denver gets behind early, his rushing attempts go down and he might get phased out of the game script. Luckily for us, this game should remain close which makes Gordon a viable option. Phillip Lindsay is a solid backup for Gordon but looks to be unable to go which means Royce Freeman slides up the depth chart and will see some snaps behind Gordon.
The Jets have really struggled to establish an efficient run game and with injuries to both Le'Veon Bell and stud young tackle Mekhi Becton (still has a shot at playing in tonight's game), they are relying on wily old vet Frank Gore to carry the rock. Gore has seen 36 rushing attempts over his last two games but is only churning out 48 rushing yards per game. The matchup against Denver is not great as they rank 7th in the league by only allowing opposing running backs to gain 107 yards on the ground per game. La'Mical Perine and Kalen Ballage will be backing up Gore with Ballage being the more viable of the two running backs. While it does not feel great rostering a Jets running back in this matchup, Ballage saw five targets this past game and is obviously liked by Gase since the Jets head coach tried to trade for him prior to the start of the 2020 season.
Summary: Melvin Gordon III looks to be the strongest option for both cash games and tournaments lineups. Gore will get his rushing attempts but does not have the upside that will help you takedown tournaments unless he finds the end zone. Ballage and Freeman are serviceable if looking for value on this slate.
DFS Wide Receivers
This is a spot where you can get really different with your roster construction on this slate. Both teams have dealt with injuries throughout the receiver position so we might be considering guys that should be third or fourth on the depth charts. Starting with the Broncos, they lost Courtland Sutton for the season which means their 2020 draft picks in Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler will be seeing plenty of action for the rest of the season. Jeudy is the top receiving option on this team and has actually been fairly consistent as he has seen 24 targets through the first three weeks. He has hauled in 13 of those targets and racked up 173 receiving yards but has yet to find the end zone for his first-ever professional touchdown. Jeudy is the safest receiving option for Denver and could be used in all formats. Outside of Jeudy, Tim Patrick and K.J. Hamler are the two other receiving options to focus on. Hamler was activated after Sutton went own with his injury and has actually been used quite a bit as he is averaging six targets per game and has the second-highest target share percentage of active Broncos receivers.
For the Jets, it all starts with Jamison Crowder. He had an explosive week 1 as he recorded seven catches for 115 yards and a touchdown but has missed some time due to an injured hamstring. While he might not be 100%, it seems as if he will give it a go in tonight's contest which will help the Jets from an offensive standpoint. Outside of Crowder, the Jets have looked to involve both Braxton Berrios and Chris Hogan into their offense. Berrios has seen 12 targets over the last two games played and is averaging over 16 DK points over his last two games played. With Crowder back, his role might dip a little bit but is still viable on this slate.
Summary: Jeudy and Crowder are the safest receiver options on this slate. With the lack of explosiveness on both sides, Hogan, Hamler, Patrick, and Berrios are all viable tournament options.
DFS Tight Ends
With both offenses getting off to slow starts this season, the tight end position could be worth looking at for your showdown lineups. The Broncos have really involved Noah Fant in their offensive gameplan and he is emerging into one of the better young tight ends in the game. Fant is averaging seven targets per game and has racked up a 15.5 DK point per game average through the first three weeks of the 2020 season. He draws a favorable matchup against New York who has surrendered three touchdowns to opposing tight ends already this season.
For the Jets, their primary tight end option is Chris Herndon who has been actually disappointing from a fantasy standpoint. While he has seen 16 total targets in the first three weeks, he has only amassed 63 total receiving yards on 10 catches. With all of the receiving options hurting for the Jets, one would think Herndon would be more involved in the passing game moving forward but with his lack of true receiving production, he is best served as a deep shot in tournaments.
Summary: Fant stands out to be the better tight end option on this slate. You can trust him in both cash game and tournament builds while Herndon is better off left for tournament builds and should be included in stacks with Darnold.
DFS Defense/Special Teams
With the low game total, it could be viable to consider both defenses on this slate. The one downside is that neither defense has really shown upside as they have combined for just two interceptions so far this season while averaging just over one sack per game. Both kickers are in play as this game could be a battle of field position and with both teams sputtering near the red zone, it could be a battle between the kickers.
Summary: Both defenses could be in play but more so in tournaments. Kicking could be crucial in this game which makes both Brandon McManus and Sam Ficken viable for tournament options.
Good luck, RotoBallers, and remember to mix it up and don't be afraid to be different in these large field GPPs!
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